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Matthew chapter 2 - Study Aide
The birth of the Lord Jesus Christ has been given us in scripture, but unfortunately many of God’s children unknowingly believe what they hear via television, papers, and tradition. Let us understand what the Bible tells us of Christ’s birth. All the details of his great advent (or, coming into the world) will not be covered in this study aide as we will cover the other gospel accounts in later studies. In the beginning of the chapter we read that “wise men” came from the east to worship the Lord Jesus. All the Bible tells us is that they were “wise” (who could be more wise than to worship the Lord?). We enjoy singing Christmas carols about “we three kings” but the Bible never tells us how many there were or that they were kings. These beliefs have been formed over the years through tradition. Tradition can be good, but not when we allow it to form our beliefs of scriptural teachings! If the Bible doesn’t reveal it to us we certainly don’t have the right to embellish (or, to make up what seems pleasing to us). We can certainly say with authority that they were wise and learned men. Most likely they were Jews that had been driven to eastern lands through persecutions during the 400 or so years period between the last book of the Old Testament ( Malachi ) and the birth of Jesus. History calls these dispersed Jews the “Diaspora” ( which means “dispersed”). Perhaps they were also ancient astrologers and familiar with the stars and the heavens. This star had certainly been prophesied of in Numbers 24:16-19 when God spoke through the wicked greedy prophet Balaam, “I shall see him, but not now. I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel…” They also, most likely, had been searching the heavens for the star through interpretation of the “seventy weeks” prophecy given in Daniel 9:24-27 wherein the time of the coming of the Messiah was revealed to his nation Israel some 540 years before it occurred. Isn’t our God powerful! During this journey of theirs in following the star they had seen in the heavens, they stopped in Jerusalem and were faced by King Herod. This man was not really a rightful king, but had been placed in power by the Romans. It was he who rebuilt again the Temple in Jerusalem to placate (or, keep them quiet) the Jews. He was quite concerned with the report that the Jews’ prophesied King was born. He assumed that the Messiah would serve as strictly an earthly king on an earthly throne and would eventually gather enough power to overthrow him and his regime. He asked his counselors about where the Messiah would be born. They didn’t have to guess because God had revealed the location of the Messiah’s birth in Micah 5:2 some 700 years before it came to pass! The priests and scribes ( scribes were copiers of the scriptures. They didn’t have copying machines back then. Go figure!) told Herod of this prophecy in verse 6. Herod then called the wise men unto him and asked how long ago it was that they first saw the star in the heavens pointing the way. He also gave them command that they were to report to him as soon as they found the child so that he could go and worship him. All the while Herod was planning to kill Jesus when he found him. How old was Jesus when all this took place? Nativity scenes always portray Jesus as an infant in a manger with the wise men hovering over him in worship. However, the Bible gives us the age of Jesus at this time as being around two years old. GASP! Are you shocked? Just look at the inspired scriptures. Notice in verse 11 that when the wise men came to adore the child Jesus they came “into the house”. At Jesus’ birth we are told that there was no room for him in the inn and had to be born in a barn and laid in a manger (or, a feeding trough). By the time that the wise men came Jesus is in a house, very probably back in Nazareth where Joseph and Mary lived. This indicates time had passed from the time that Jesus was born and the coming of the wise men. Also notice the timing of Herod’s actions. When he came to realize that the wise men were too wise to reveal to him the location of the child they had come to worship (DUH!), he wickedly ordered all the children two years old and under in the area of Bethlehem killed. Why? The answer is in verse 16, “Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.” You see, the time that had passed from the coming of the star to the time of the slaughter of the children was approximately two years. Did Herod succeed? Thank God, no. Our God warned Joseph to flee with the child Jesus and Mary into Egypt until the time of danger was past. When Herod died, it was revealed to Joseph to return, which they did and settled back in the city of Nazareth.
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